Automatic die flanger



Nov. l5, 1927.

H. L. BRYANT 'ATOMATIC DIE FLANGER Filed Aug. 25, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m :g/f(

ATTORNEYS Nov. 15,1927. 1 I 1,649,284 H. L. BRYANTV `AUTOMATIC DIE 'FLANGER Filed Aug. 25, 1925 5 Sheets-SheerI 3 Patented Nov. 15,1927.

UNITED STATES imager PATENT 1 oFFica.

HARVEY L. BRYANT, OF RGSELLE, NEW JERSEY, SSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAN COI/- PANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW' JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC DIE FLANGER.

.ApplicationA led August 25,.-1925.- Serial No. 452,4l17.

'My invention relates to Hanging machines, and particularly to an improvement in such machines adapted to produce better results in the Hanging of oblong, orl other lnon-circular can bodies, than has been possible with the machines used for this purpose in the past. The Hanging machines commonly used include oppositely disposed co-acting dies members, or Hanging pads as they are termed in the art, whichihave a reciprocating movement, causing the same to move intoV and out of the ends of the can bodies, curling or bending the edges thereof outwardly to provide a suitable Harige adapted to enter into the double seamjoint by which the ends are attached. A Harige formed in this manner on circular can bodies is entirely satisfactory, since, by reason of the circular shape of the body, the strains and stresses in the metal are substantially equal on all lines of cross section as the Hange is being formed. In the case, however, of oblong or rectangular bodies, which usually are made with slightly rounded corners, the resistance offered by the straight sides and by said corners varies considerably, the resistance at the corners being sufhciently greater to cause an unevenness in the Hange,

which obviously interferes with eHicient attachment of the ends. The mechanism usedv for round bodies is, therefore, not satisfactory for this type of bodies and it has been customary to provide squeezer jaws adapted to cooperate with the Hanging pads in the Hanging operation, said jaws being arranged to Hrmlyback up or confinevthe exterior of the body at the ends thereofy where the Hanging action is taking place. Even with this mechanism, however, satisfactory results are not always obtained, due to the fact that the metal throughout the periphery of the body edge is closely and uniformly confined by the squeezer jaws and inasmuch as the metal at the rounded corners must be spread or stretched more than that along the sides of a rect-angular body, a puclrering, or unevenness,'1nay be caused at said corners, thus producing an irregular Hange. For an illustration of the type of mechanism just described, reference is madel to LeHier Patent No. 905,719, and for an illustration of mechanism adapted to the Hanging of circular bodies, reference may be had to Rudolphi Patent- No. 1,055,418.

It is the object of my invention to provide a Hanging machine adapted to Voperate upon oblong or other non-circular can bodies of the type above mentioned in such manner as to avoid the unsatisfactory results referred to and toproduce Hanges which will be uniform throughout the periphery of the can bodyfedges. rThis object is accomplished by providing mechanism adapted to confine the straight sides of a non-circular body during the Hanging operation, but leaving the rounded corners without a support so that in the spreading or forming of the rounded corners, sufficient metal may be drawn from the straight sides to produce a uniform Hange, the strains being thus equal- 4 ized and the increased resistance at the cor-y ners being compensated for. I have found that in this manner I am able to obtain a Hange free from wrinkles, or creases, and

more perfect in all respects than the Hanges produced by the mechanism' heretofore in use.

A further and incidental advantage of the invention is that itdispenses with the exact machine worlrneeded in making the squeezer jaw, or die type of mechanism, wherein the jaws must exactly Ht each other without any variation.

Another feature of the machine of the invention is that the number of moving parts is reduced and maximum production obtained with a minimum amount of mechanical operation. v

Numerous v other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understoodl from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an automatic can body Hanging machine in which the principles of my invention are embodied;

Fig. 2 is a plan and sectional view, taken just above the supporting table;

` Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially on the section line 3--3 in Fig. l;

Fig. l is a section taken substantially on the section line 1 -4 in Fig. 2; and i Fig. 5 is a central sectional view, taken substantially on the line 5-5 in Fig. 4l.

On saidV drawings, I have shown, for illustrative purposes only, a machine in which the operating parts are supported upon a frame comprising a bed 11, legs 12 and angle lOO Cil

iron connecting members, or braces, 13. Said operating parts comprise primarily two side Walls 14: supported by brackets 15 adjustably mounted upon a lined part 1G supported upon the table 11 and held in place by means of screws 17, and two die members, or flanging pads, 18 which are securedv to slides 19 mounted in guideways 21 and adapted to be reciprocated in timed relationship to 'the feeding of the can bodies, in a manner which will be presently described. Said pads are termed with tapered surfaces 22, adapted to enter the mouth ofthecan and with channels 23 at the base of said tapered surfaces adapted to receive and shape the flange as said pads move toward each other and into oppositel ends ot said can body. The outer wall 2% ot said channel provides a limiting stop for the flange and the members 14, together with other parts to be later described, hold the body in position to cause said flange to be directed into said channel upon inward movement of said pads. Said side walls 14: are tapered at the top, as indicated at 25, to facilitate the entrance of the can bodies therebetween and are adjusted in accordance with the size ot' said bodies to provide a guideway throughwhich said bodies move in close relationship to said walls, whereby the walls provide a positive support for the sides ot said can bodies. Hinge blocks 26 are lpivoted at 27 in supports 28 at the top and bottom of said Hanging pads 18 and serve to support the short, straight sides of the can body during the flanging op` eration. lt will be evident that said blocks may move readily over the end ot' the can upon axial movement 01"' said vHanging pads toward each other betere the langes are projected and they are held in contact with the can wall by means of lat springs 29, secured by screws 31 to top parts 32 on said tlanging pads 18.

The cans are lied into the machine through a runway 33 and are supported during the Hanging operation by a vertical conveyer, comprising a chain'3i1 carrying lugs or supports 35 and moving about sprockets 3G and 37 mounted, respectively, upon shafts 38 and 39, which have bearings ll and l2 in opposite ends of brackets t3 secured by means of screws lll to the table l1. intermittent movement is imparted to said conveyer by means of a pawl and ratchet mechanism, indicated at 45, at one end ot' the shaft 38 and operated by a rod 16 extending trom a yoke 4 47, which carries a cam following roller #i8 riding in a cam groove in a cam 49, mounted upon a shaft 51 j ournaled in bearings 52 extended from the table 11. Said shaft is adapted to be driven from any suitable source of power by means of a pulley 53, mounted at one end thereof and carries at its opposite end a crank 54, the crank pin 55 ot which is connected by means ol link 56 with a slide 57 mounted in a guideway 58 in said table 11. Said slide 57 is connected by rods 59 with levers 61, pivotcd at 62 to the frame,'said levers being connectedby links 63 with sliding members 64; carrying the. slides 19 to which the langing pads 18 are secured. For the sake of rigidity, the pivot points 62 are connected by tie rods 65 and it will be evident that the Hanging pads 18 are moved 'toward and from each other periodically by the mechanism just described. This reciprocating movement is in timed relationship to the feeding ot the cans, the latter beingheld in stationary position as said pads move inwardly anduntil they have moved away su'liiciently to cause the pivoted blocks 26 to snap over the formed flange, which l have indicated by the reference character 68, the can body being Y designated by the character 67. Said bodies 67 are supported upon the lugs 35 of the conveyer 34, as they are transferred through the Hanging mechanism, and are discharged through a discharge chute 68 after the flanging operation has been completed. Said conveyei.` operates in timed relationship'with respect to the movement et' the langing pads, as hereinbefore stated. The shaft- 39, upon which said sprocket 37 is mounted, is vidle and said sprocket is so arranged as to cause said conveyer lugs 35 to support the cans as they are moved downwardly underneath the table ot the machine and deposited'in the discharge chute, or runway, 68 through which they move by gravity or are fed in any preferred manner.

lt will be apparent, from viewing F ig. 5r particularly of: the drawings, that the rounded' corners 69 ot the cans are unsupported, being arranged between the yside walls 14 and the pivotcd blocks 26 and being free to permit unrestrained flow of the metalV thereto from the straight, supported side walls during the Hanging action. i

From the foregoing, it is believed that t-hc operation ot the machine will be apparent. The untlanged can bodies G7 are fed down through the chute 33 and are engaged by the lugs 35 oit the conveyor chain 34 when said chain is ,at rest. Upon movement ot the chain, the can body is lowered thereby and is brought to rest in axial alignment with the tlanging pads 18, which move in` wardly and form outwardly extending flanges upon the opposite ends 'ot the body, as previously described. The Hanging pads are then separated, at which time the spring-held blocks 26 snap over and oli' ot' the formed flanges (36.V This takes` place while the can body is at rest, the conveyer chain then moving to lower thecan body from the tlanging position and bringing in the next can body to said flanging position. Tlc flanged' body is moved downwardly by a series ol step movements and is finally projected from the conveyer chain 34 into the discharge chute 68.

It is thought that the invention and many vof its attendant advantages will be underhaving a tapered head adapted to enter an open end of said body, said die having a format-ion adapted to produce an outwardly extending Hange upon said body, and means for supporting the median parts of the side walls of said can body, said supporting means terminating so as not to extend to the corners of the can body and so as to leave 1 the rounded corners thereof unsupported,

whereby the strains upon the flange along said straig-ht sides and at the corners are equalized and sufficient metal may enter the flange at the corners from said sides to produce a substantially uniform flange throughout the periphery of the body edge.

2. In a can body Hanging machine, the combination of means for supporting noncircular can bodies with rounded corners at a Hanging station, means` adapted to enter the mouth of a can body to form an edge flange on the latter, and means for supporting the median parts of substantially straight portions of said body on the exterior thereof, and at places between the corners thereof, said supporting means terminating so as not to extend to the corners of the can body, whereby the said straight portions of the body are unsupported at said corners during the Hanging operations.

3. In a body flanging machine, the combination of means for supporting non-circular can bodies having rounded corners at a Hanging station. means adapted to enter the mouth of a can body to form an edge flange on the latter, and means for supporting the median parts of straight portions of said body on the exterior thereof, said supporting means terminating so as not to extend to the corners of the can body, whereby the said straight portions of the body are unsupported at said corners during the flanging operations, said supporting means including pivoted members yieldably held in contact with the body and` adapted to move outwardly over the flange of the body to permit removal of the latter after Hanging.

L In a body Hanging machine, the combination of means for supporting non-circular can bodies having rounded corners at a Hanging station, means adapted to enter the mouth of a can body to form an edge flange on the latter, and means for supporting the median parts of straight portions of said body on the exterior' thereof7 said supporting means terminating so as not to extend to the corners of the can body, whereby the said straight portions of the body are unsupported at said corners during the flanging operations, said supporting means including pivoted members yieldably held in Contact with the body and adapted to move outwardly over the flange of thev body to permit removal of the latter' after Hanging, said members being movable with said Hangmg means. l

5. In a can body Hanging machine, the combination of means for supporting noncircular can bodies at a Hanging station, said bodies having substantially straight wall portions and curved wall portions, means for flanging said can bodies uniformly throughout the periphery of the wall thereof, and means for backing up the substantially straight wall portions during the Hanging operation, said backing up means having spaces between them opposite to the curved wall portions.

6. In a can body Hanging machine, the combination of a supporting frame providing ay Hanging station, means for delivering non-circular canA bodies to said station,

spaced apart side guides at said station between which said bodies are directed and by which they are exteriorly supported, and reciprocating means for kflanging an open end of said body, said body having substantially straight wall portions and curved wall portions and the curved portions being at the spaces vbetween .said side guides and unsupportedy by said guides.

7. In a can body flanging machine, the combination of means for supporting noncircular can bodies having rounded corners at a flanging station, reciprocating means movable in opposite directions and adapted to enter opposite ends of the can body to Hange the same, and spaced apart guides for supporting substantially straight portions of said body on the exterior thereof, the rounded corners of the body being located at the spaces between said guides and unsupported during the Hanging operations.

` HARVEY'L. BRYANT.

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